Apparent sandhi irregularities in the Bhagavad Gita

[Dermot Killingley]

Dear Harry,

  "...mahAnubhAvAJ zreyo...".
 is correct.

>  "...mahAnubhAvAn zreyo...".

may, as you suggest, be influenced by the break between the first and
second padas, though normal practice is to break sandhi only at the
end of the second pada (and of course the fourth). In the case of
editions in Roman script, such as Radhakrishnan's, it may be just a
misprint or editor's slip. Anyway, the irregularity is insignificant,
because anyone who knows sandhi can correct it unambiguously and even
without noticing.

> Verse 10.41 "tejoMzasambhavan".

This is also insignificant, but for a different reason. There is
considerable variation in practice with avagraha. It's treated as
an aid to the reader rather than an integral part of the text, which
explains why some people use it where word-initial "a" is elided
after word-final "A".

But in the interests of consistency, I'd advise you to keep the
avagraha in the above line in your edition.

Dermot


Dr Dermot Killingley (Reader in Hindu Studies)
Department of Religious Studies,
University of Newcastle upon Tyne,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
Tel: (0191) 222 6730. Fax: (0191) 222 5185